news-record.com

GREENSBORO — A city councilwoman and a one-time police special intelligence officer have been added to the list of defendants in a lawsuit brought by 39 black police officers, according to Guilford County court filings.

The lawsuit, which was filed in January and amended Tuesday afternoon, claims that Greensboro police leaders directed Officer Scott Sanders and other unnamed officers to investigate black police officers.

The amended complaint also claims that Councilwoman Trudy Wade played a role in the publication of the officers’ names and information about a proposed $750,000 settlement — which the plaintiffs allege was intended to derail negotiations to settle the officers’ discrimination complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Wade declined to comment about the lawsuit Tuesday night, saying she had not had time to read the allegations or confer with her attorney. But in November, Wade said she didn’t give any of that information to a reporter.

The allegations against Wade are “absurd and inconsistent with the facts,” Councilman Mike Barber said Tuesday night.

“It’s preposterous. It’s another ridiculous lawsuit,” said attorney Seth Cohen, who represented Sanders when he was acquitted of a charge of illegally accessing a federal government computer. “The allegations are untrue.”

Attorneys Jason Knight and Ken Free, who represent the 39 officers, declined to comment Tuesday night.

In 2006, the 39 police officers filed discrimination complaints with the EEOC.

In January, they filed a civil lawsuit alleging discrimination and breach of contract by the city, former police Chief David Wray and former Deputy Chief Randall Brady.

The officers’ amended lawsuit further claims invasion of privacy through publication of confidential information and civil conspiracy, and asks that the defendants be prevented from disclosing further confidential personnel information about the plaintiffs.

The officers claim Wray and Brady discriminated against them by directing subordinate officers to include their pictures in photo lineups and pursue unsubstantiated charges against them because of their race, according to the lawsuit.

The city and Wray have said that at least one lineup, a “black book” containing photos of 19 officers, was used to investigate an alleged sexual assault.

The newly amended lawsuit claims there are multiple lineup books and that there is no record of such a sexual assault.

Cohen denied the allegation.

“There was only one photo book, and it was used by special intelligence,” he said. “There is only one so-called black book, and I’ve said that 100 times.”

The lawsuit claims that special intelligence officers investigated black officers to test their honesty or entrap them and that Wray and Brady failed to promote some black officers to positions for which they were qualified.

Wray’s attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

The suit also claims that Councilwoman Wade sought to have the names of the plaintiffs and a proposed $750,000 settlement publicized in an effort to derail the City Council’s negotiations to settle the officers’ discrimination complaints.

After the publication of information about the City Council’s closed session negotiations, council members rescinded their offer.

The names of the 39 officers making discrimination complaints against the city were released by the city clerk’s office in a public records request made by The Rhinoceros Times Editor John Hammer, who had asked for the same contracts the clerk’s office had given to Wade.

As for how he was privy to the $750,000 figure considered during the negotiations, Hammer said, “Everybody knew it. I heard it from several people.”

Staff writer Ryan Seals contributed to this report.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com